the Life of Olena

 

Olena asked if she could use the camera the other day to take a few pictures.  She wanted to play "photographer Olena" .  She had a good time and spent about an hour running around the house snapping away.  148 pictures later here is what we have...believe it or the not the pictures I did take out were all of Gus and yes there were still this many left.  Can you tell who her favorite is? and yes, he does usually keep his tongue in his mouth but apparently being the #1 model for world famous Photographer Olena was hard work.  So thought I would share... "An hour of my day" by Olena Warchol  :)

A little accessory for her Aunt Rickie's wedding.  She kept telling us she wanted long hair like us for the wedding but we just never grew it out.  So voila! instant long hair! I do plan to make it look a lot nicer for the wedding.  Literally she walked in from playing in the sprinkler and I shoved it on her head.  Once her real hair is curled it will blend and look more uniform. I am proud at how well I matched the color, I was worried because I ordered it off line.  

Olena and Amira Spring Session 2012 

Shark teeth...which to a 7 year old, is pretty darn cool!

Things are somewhat back to normal around here.  While busy, life is not chaotic or stressful these days and I am just perfectly happy with that.  Jason has been busy with little house hold projects now that spring has sprung and we can see all the junk we have!! and all the stuff that needs repair!  I seem to finally be coming out of my winter funk and have been on an organizing kick the last couple of days.  I tackled cleaning my basement, threw away 2 garbage bags of broken, worn and or plain useless junk, cleaned my dresser and Olena's as well as my closet...all in the last 2 days! I feel accomplished, I even found time to cut the grass tonight and all my laundry is washed, cleaned and put away.  Hooray!! Updates: Olena can now ride a two wheeler with no problem.  She is a motorized scooter junkie. Her top two teeth are slightly wiggly. Her bottom two big teeth have started coming in....but the babies are still hanging on for dear ...

 

My very good friend April Brown was finally successful in starting her dream...she opened and is running a local food bank.  Open Cupboard!   A few weeks ago we called the Ronald McDonald House at our Detroit Children's Hospital to inquire about what needs they currently have.  They called her back today and said that they are in desperate need of help and they asked her if she would be able to donate all of her food to them for the Month of May which would hopefully get them through the summer! This is amazing and we are so excited! I am SO EXCITED for her.  In addition to that United Way has asked her to participate in their distribution program.  They would give her food, and she delivers it weekly to the "charity" of her choice, in this case for the month of May, it would be the RMH.  What a rewarding experience this has been and I look forward to sharing this with her! With that being said, if anyone is interested in donati...

So while weeping over the fact that my daughter is no longer my "baby" I browsed my usual sites over the weekend and begged God to help me find a way.  $30-40K! it is absurd.  I know they say it is necessary but I find that hard to believe, especially when we managed to bring Olena home at $19k.  If my prayers are ever answered, you better believe that one of these beauties (or any other ones) are coming home!! DO B: 2009/2010 HIV+/HIV- The brother "Jonah" was born June 2009. The sister "Lila" was born November 2010. The children must be adopted together. The siblings were born to an HIV-positive birthmother and we believe the brother is positive and the sister is not. Additional photos available. In-country travel is easy. Experienced agency with HIV adoptions from RU. Married couples or single women can apply. 3 trips. Trip 1, both parents travel 5-7 days. Return home for 2-3 months. Both parents travel about 7 days on trip 2 for the court hearin...

One day a two wheeler, the next day a motorized scooter...next thing you know she will be driving a car, getting married and starting her own family.  I will post more soon about the weekend Olena aged 2 years, but some of the family is anxious to see this new video.  Back story: Olena seen that Lyra had a scooter and all she talked about is how badly she wanted one.  My mom, the grandma who spoils, went and got one for her for Easter.  I really didn't think she would be able to ride it but being that the day before she jumped on the two wheeler, I figured she would prove me wrong.  And boy did she ever.  This video is her in the school parking lot.  On our way home from my grandparents, J and I decided to stop here and see what she could do.  This video is her within a few minutes of getting on. Since Sunday, she has spent every free second riding this thing.   She has now progressed onto "cool tight ...

We have been trying to teach her how to ride a 2 wheeler for weeks now.   Today, Jason and I go to the grocery store while Rickie and Olena hang out back at home.  As we are coming back, I was focused on the neighbors cat in the street while warning J when I looked over and seen this tiny little girl zooming along.  I had to double take when I realized it was MY DAUGHTER!! I started yelling to Jason OH MY GOSH....Look it is Olena she is riding her bike. We pulled up in the drive way and Rickie, while smiling ear to ear, said 5 minutes after we left O came into the house, told her to come watch her and she was riding without an issue.  Just yesterday the 3 of us ran up and down the street with her and wasn't too successful! guess today was the day! :)

Here she is practicing the two-point position.  I do love the way the picture came out! Two-point position is the position that a rider takes as they are approaching a horse jump As a rider is preparing to go over a jump with their horse, the rider will move forward and into two point position- they will be riding with two points in connection with a horse. The two points are referring to the contact on each leg on each side of the saddle.   Two-point takes considerable balance and muscle strength.  In two-point the rider doesn't just lean forward over the horse's neck, but balances their weight farther back over the seat of the saddle. In this way the rider isn't off balancing the horse, but is centered over the horses body in a slightly crouched position

She comes down the hallway dressed in this lovely outfit.  I can't help it, but I bust out laughing.  She looks at me with this serious face and says "what?......too much pink? you think this is too much pink dont cha?"  I almost peed my pants I started laughing even harder.  Honey...the pink should be the last of your concern! 

It is after 11pm at night, I am sitting in a completely quiet, peaceful, warm breezy house.  I am soaking up every moment and really appreciating it for what it has to offer me right now...REPRIEVE! I am so exhausted I cannot even fall asleep.  Fighting a bad case of insomnia and after tossing and turning for over 30 minutes I figured I would just get up and wait for the heavy eye lids to return.  The last 2 weeks have been extremely challenging, not to mention a true test of my Faith.  I have had to deal with some of the most difficult, negative and self loathing people I have ever encountered, and have had every possible thing go wrong in the mean time.  There has not been a single solitary day in that last 14 days that a problem has not occurred.  The honest to goodness reason I am still sane or even alive today is because I have prayed....a lot, and every prayer has been answered.  It is the only thing that keeps me stro...

It didn't take long to fall of the bandwagon huh?? To make matters worse, I have to admit that I have spent the last month flying through each and every day....not taking a single moment to stop and really appreciate anything.  It is the sad but honest truth.  I sit here exhausted right now, thinking back over the month of February and all I can say is that we got a lot done.  I don't know how, but we did it.   My house is a disaster zone despite my futile attempt to keep it clean and organized.  The surface is presentable but the closets, basement, garage, and any storage area should probably have caution tape across it.  I almost sustained an injury today opening our coat closet and a huge pile of shoes, coats and riding gear tumbled onto me! So whats been keeping me busy?  work! OH MY work!! I am blessed to have a job especially in this economy.  It is something that is required for us financially but sometimes it is so ov...

I know I made promises, and I fully intend on keeping them.  Honestly though, my life is complete madness right now.  I am  barely even home, and when I am here I end up getting caught up in the daily chores, school prep, cleaning, blah blah blah.  Well before I lose my inspiration to write tonight lets get right too it.  So I came across a quote today that really made me start thinking.  In honor of Valentine's Day, my 9 year wedding anniversary and all of those around me these days who are faces challenges in love I would like to share a few of my thoughts.  Wikipedia definition for Love: Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment . Love is also a virtue representing all of human kindness , compassion, and affection; and "the unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another" Sounds so simple doesn't it?  An emotion...a simple affection and or attachment to someone or something?  I ...

Next week, this is what I will be driving!  A Buick Rendezvous! Pretty nice, huh? I love my Trailblazer and I love the idea of no longer having a truck payment, but it is getting pretty old and has well over 130,000 miles on it.  With all of the driving I have to do (especially far distance driving) between horse back riding, co-op, work, etc... Jason and I were starting to get a bit worried about the cost of repairs and the idea of whether or not the Trailblazer could continue to handle all of the extra miles.  This truck is used, a 2006 but the mileage is really low (47k) and it is in great condition.  It is comfortable, has 3rd row seating,  it is a bit smaller than my Trailblazer and good on gas.  Best of all, we got it for a steal.  The dealer closed another lot and aquired about 150 of thier car, which they have been sitting on for awhile now.  It was the fastest and easiest car purchase I have ever made...

This is the book that Olena is in the process of writting and illustrating for her co-op class.  They have to tell a circular story such as the series by By Laura Joffe Numeroff With that being said, I introduce to you, (the begining of at least) If you give a Tiger a Tomato Written and Illustrated by Olena Warchol. To be continued...

My weekend was spent in Windsor Canada with Rickie - my best friend - helping her with some wedding chores.  We had to shop wedding boutiques crowed with lots of chatty women and we had to assemble and stuff wedding invites. Olena couldn't join us, due to the fact that busy mommy still hasn't made time to take her to the post office to get her passport renewed! it expired a few weeks ago, so now it is impossible for me to take her over the border!  It all worked out for the best.  She got to spend the day with her cousin playing, and Rickie's wicked bridezilla was not able to scare the pants off my kid.  Yes, my very best friend is a completely unruley bride-to-be.  She is sassy, demanding and not very nice.  But I sigh a breath of patience and try to remember that this is a woman who has been waiting about 14 years to get married.  I know it will never ruin our friendship, I don't think much of anything ever could, but it is enough to driv...

Jan 2007 - 2 year well visit. She was 19 lbs and 31 inches tall. Fast forward to last year.  Feb of 2011 - 6 year well visit. She was up to 29 lbs and 39.5 inches tall.  We steadly climbed up roughly 2 lbs and 2 inches every year. Now, Jan 2012 - 7 year well visit. She puts on her little hospital gown, stands to be measured for her height.....42 inches. Ok our usual 2 inches.  Then she stands on the scale... drumroll please.............................. 39.5 lbs.   10.5 lbs in 11 months.  I almost fell out of my chair.  I couldn't believe it.  I told the medical assistant her scale was wrong and she giggled.  I said "no seriously, according to the scale you are telling me my daughter gained more this year than in the last 4 years."  She just giggled again, wrote down the numbers on the paper, and started fishing back through the chart looking at last years numbers.  You could see her face start to get a look of concern and...